Air or gas compressor system.



No. 883,888. PATENTED APR. 7, 1908. H. KELLER.

AIR 0R GAS COMPRESSOR SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10,1907.

WITNESSES v flVI ENTUH LY) HULDHEZCH LL;EH. MM-

v ATTY UNITED sTAT s PATENT OFFICE- HULDREICH KELLER, OF BERLIN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO'GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AIR OR GAS COMPRESSOR SYSTEM.

Application To all whom it may concern: i i, Be it known that I, HULDREIOH KELLER, a citizen of Switzerland, residing at Berlin. Germany. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air or Gas Compressor Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to improvements in rotary apparatus for compressing air or other gas for industrial purposes.

In the practice of my invention I use a series of rotary compressors or of groups of compressors of any desiredor improved construction, the. compressors or groups of compressors being so arranged that the compression is eilected in graduated stages, the air discharged from the first compressor of the series being received by the second compressor, and .is there further compressed and is discharged to a third compressor, etc., until the desired degree of. compression is obtained, it being understood that after each stage of compression the air or gas may be cooled.

'I n accordance with my invention the com pressors form a series graduated in such manner that each compressor in the series is smaller in volume but is driven at a higher number of revolutions than the next preceding one, and the diameters of the compressors and their number of revolutions are so graduated that each compressor runs at the same highest practicable peripheral speed, which is limited by the maximum PG-I'Il'llSSlblC friction and the maximum permissible strain by centrifugal force. The different speeds may be obtained each by an independent motor or engine, and in particular by a steam turbine, one for each compressor or for a group-of compressors, or it may be obtained from a single motor or engine connected with all compressors or groups of compressors by suitable gearing. By preference, however, andin accordance with my invention, the motive power is obtained from a steam turbine system composed of a series of turbine wheels, the first receiving the. steam at high pressure and running at high sJeed, and each successive wheel receiving the discharge steam from the next preceding one and running at a lower speed.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated ir the accompanying drawing, which shows a plan view of a series of turbines and Specification of Letters Patent.

filed April 10, 1907. Serial No. 367,339.

Patented April '7, 1908.

\ coupled in parallel, so that the element 1 may represent either a single compressor as shown in the drawing, or it may represent a group of like compressors all, driven at the same speed, receiving the air through a common channel and discharging it through acommon channel. The same thing is true of the elements 2 and 3. With this understanding I shall hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, speak of the compressor elements 1, 2 and 3, as if each were a single rotary compressor. T he compressor element 1 is the largest, both in volume and in diameter. The compressor element 2 is smaller than the element 1 both in volume and in diameter-(and the compressor element 3 is smaller than the element 2, both in volume and in diameter; and in this manner, it the series of compressors is extended, each successive element would be smaller both in volume and diameter than the next preceding element. The compressor 1 receives the air or gas to be com ressed through the ups 4 and discharges it tirough the pipe 5, "rom where it passes through a channel 6 and by pi e 7 to the compressor 2, from which it is dlscharged by the pipe 8 through channel 9, and enters the compressor 3 by a pipe 10, from where it ma finally be discharged by the pipe 11, eit or to a storage tank or to the place where the com- )ressed air or gas is utilized immediately.

he channels 6 and 9, which are here shown in dotted lines, may either constitute by themselves each a cooler, wherein the air which has been heated in one compressor element is cooled before it is admitted to the next compressor element, or these channels may lead to specially constructed coolers to which the compressed air is carried from one compressor element and is again delivered to smaller than 1 and the element 3' smaller element is connecteo with the corresponding compressor element by a coupling 12 and a shaft 13, the compressor shafts having suit-.

able bearings 14. It will be seen that in this arrangement.- the turbineelement 3 receives the steam at its highest pressure and therefore runs at the highest speed and that each successive turbine element, like 2 and 1, receives the steam at considerably lower pressure, so that these turbine elements run at a successively lower number of revolutions. Conse uent-ly, the compressor element 1 runs at the owest number of revolutions per unit of time, the com ressor element 2 at a higher number of revo utions and the compressor.

element 3 at a still higher number of revolutions per unit of time; but the diameters of these different com ressors are so graduated that the periphera speed of the different compressors is the same, or practically the same, and this s eed is determined by the highest permissib e air friction and'centrifugal strain upon the compressor blades or pistons.

What by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

1. A sys em of air or gas compression coml claim as new and desire to secure ceases prising a connected series of rotary compress'-' ors or of groups of rotary com ressors, each successive element of the series eing smaller in diameter than the preceding element, in combmatlon with a series of motors or en-. 5

ines, each element of the series driving aster than the preceding element and-each f connected with one elementof the series of compressors, 1n such order that the com pressors of larger diameter are driven at a proportionally smaller number of revolutions, substantially as described.

2. A system of air of gas compression consisting of a connected series of rotary compressors or of groups of rotary compressors 5 of graduated diminishing diameter, 111 combination with a series of motors or en ines driven at a correspondingly graduatec increasing speed, and each connected to a compressor element in such order as to drive the smaller ones proportionally faster than the larger ones, substantially as described.

3. A system of air or gas compression consisting of a connected series of rotary compressors or of groups of rotary compressors of graduated diminishin diameter, in combination' with a connected series of steam tur-- I bines each actuated by the exhaust from the preceding element of the series, the higher? pressure elements driving the compressors of .70

correspondingly diminished diametersand the lower ressure elements driving the compressors o correspondingly increasing diame ters, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 22nd day of March, 1907. I

HULDREICH KELLER.

Witnesses:

JULIUS RUMLAND, KARL KRICKEBEN. 

